By Kristen Oxley
Assistant Editor
April 7, 2006
The Milligan College golf team faired well at their two most recent tournaments, tying for ninth at the Southeastern Kentucky Golf Invitational and placing first at the University of Virginia-Wise Invitational.
The Southeastern Kentucky Invitational, held March 30 and 31 at Crooked Creek Golf Course in London, Ky., hosted 17 teams from around the country. The teams played two rounds, with Milligan scoring a 312 on day one and a 317 on day two for a total score of 629.
Senior Aaron Jessee led the Buffs with his combined score of 153, taking 15th place overall. Sophomore Grayson Patton finished 24th overall, scoring a 75 and 82 for a total of 155. Juniors Matt Ongie and Ryan Morris added to Milligan’s team score with two round totals of 159 and 162, respectively.
The Buffs returned to the course on Monday and Tuesday at the Ridgefield Country Club in Kingsport. Against nine other conference teams, the Buffs took the lead Monday with a team total of 301. They held onto their lead Tuesday, finishing with a team score of 312, a 12 shot lead over second-place finishing team Tennessee Wesleyan.
Jessee once again led the Buffs with his two-round score of 151 while Morris followed closely with a combined 152. These scores were good enough to secure 4th and 5th individual honors. Both Ongie and Barefoot improved their first round, each shooting a 78 on Tuesday and adding a 157 and 158 to the team score.
Freshmen Jay Bernhardt and Michael Woods competed as individuals in the tournament. Bernhardt shot an 80 in round one and an 83 in round two, taking a combined score of 163. Woods took a two-round score of 167.
“It was a good thing that we won, but one thing to note is that it was really tough,” Woods said. “We proved a lot by winning.”
Woods said that beating the conference teams matter the most because they will be competing against them at the regional and conference championship. Milligan is currently ranked number two in the Appalachian Athletic Conference behind rival Brevard.
The golf team takes the green again on April 12 at the Milligan/Cattails Invitational at Cattails of Meadowview Country Club in Kingsport.